ELLIS ISLAND PASSENGER RECORDS and THE MYTH OF NAME CHANGES and ETHNIC NAMES #3

There's a popular myth that passengers debarking from steerage (3rd class) off steamships at ELLIS ISLAND sometimes had their surnames changed by authority figures - clerks. It's not true. 

However, if you were an illiterate passenger who spoke your name in your own language, it's possible that the person hearing and recording your name could make an error. But wait a minute! You have a ticket. You were added to a list of passengers departing from another port where your surname was also recorded, and by someone whose first language was German or your native language. Even if you never went to school and couldn't read and write in your own language, you might have learned to sign your name. (And signing your name might mean that on American census, when asked if you're literate, the answer is yes.)

Did some immigrants change their own names or the spelling of them, given and/or surnames? They did. Sometimes more than once. Usually they did so informally, by use, rather than what we do now, go to court. Making a break from the Old World and starting anew in the New World was an opportunity to develop a new identity. (And yes, some immigrants would drop a religion they felt held them back or disappear and never send for a wife left behind.)

What this has to do with finding an ancestor on a database that includes the port of New York - or really any other port - is that you might be looking for the name of the person to be consistent with the name you know them by, which might be the name on a census or naturalization papers or not.

My experience is that the given name is the first to be changed to be Americanized. There are thousands of Maria's who become Mary's. I found one who became Mammie. That's easy. 

You should always consider the name and its variants, Americanized, then go back to ethnic origins. Doing so and running a given name through databases has helped me find some ancestors whose surnames were really screwed up by census takers and other recorders. Screwed up in spelling or in confusing bad handwriting that was then transcribed into bad text, but not, if you go forward, changed after all.

Take the name Walenty. I found him using not Walter, but Valentine. An accurate translation by the way.

Elizabeta became Betty, Beth, and Lizzy.

Consider Lawrence, a man who self identified as Polish and left a village near the Ukraine, which was Galicia. (But who turned out to be Ruthenian and in Greek Catholic records.) In Polish his name is Wawrzyniec. In German, one of the languages he spoke, Lars. Lorenz, Lauren, or Leuz. In Russian, Lavrent, Levrentiy. And so on. Lawrence went to work as a crew member on a ship where his given and surname were Germanicized.

Although you might think that English versions of a name were prioritized, for central and eastern Europeans, German was a second language so using German equivalents was more comfortable and useful. German speaking people were already in America and used that language in common, especially in the workplace. So I've seen Slavic given and surnames become German by spelling or meaning. 

Consider a name change when your ancestors just doesn't seem to be on records you seek.

C 2021

This post is part of a series of posts focused on Ellis Island, New York Harbor, and Industrial Age immigrants.

A RIGHT AND PRIVILEGE

 

STEAMSHIP MANIFESTS and CITIZENSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES #2

The original ELLIS ISLAND searchable database now uses slidey bars that I find annoying. These are especially difficult to use on cell phones and by some seniors and others who have arthritis or shaking in their hands or are otherwise unable to easily achieve exactitude using them. I like to input a range of dates and other information by typing.

You don't have to use it. The National Archives New York branch also has passenger records and detailed information for New York Harbor.

See PASSENGER ARRIVAL LISTS. U.S. Customs Service was the agency.

Do you need to search through many lists of names at all?

Most immigrants were aware of the rules for obtaining American Citizenship, also called Naturalization. They knew they would be making a Declaration of Intent, which we call First Papers. After about two years of working and being on good behavior, they could continue the process, making an application. About seven years living in the country was the fastest process for citizenship on average. Of course there were a number of reasons why it could take longer ranging from their own uncertainty about staying and making that Declaration of Intent to historical events like World War I and changes in government rules. Certain ethnic groups were considered suspicious and their process was stalled out during that war. Another consideration was the cost. If you were scraping by poor, you might not have the filing fee. That said, the typical Industrial Revolution immigrant didn't face complications that would require hiring a lawyer. So, your good behavior and ability to support yourself was proof you qualified to be a welcomed new citizens and swear your allegiance to The United States of America.

Then at some point quotas based on country/ethnicity were determined which slowed immigration down considerably. This was tied in with the understanding that America had enough workers in factories and manufacturing.

The amount of information to be found on a citizenship application varies from State to State and when the application was filed. Generally in 1906 forms required more information and there was less regional difference. Pennsylvania, for instance, has space on their form to list the names of wife and children who would all become citizens at the same time. Other places seem to have been much less formal. A man walked into a court house and raised his hand to swear he was giving up, say, the King, accompanied by a friend from work who was already a citizen to witness and walked out. A clerk wrote his name and address in a book. It's brief. That was that.

All this is said because if you already have the citizenship papers, the applicant may have listed the date of arrival and the name of the ship. You can go right to that information on the passenger lists and may be rewarded with some interesting details. 

Be aware that a function of Ellis was also to keep records so if an immigrant lost their information, they could ask for a certificate. I personally haven't seen any certificates but I have seen notes on manifests indicating someone looked at them and found a person's name to provide that information for their citizenship.

Therefore, there can be a relationship between the date of entry into the U.S. and moving forwards in time and finding citizenship papers as well.

C 2021

This post is part of a series of posts focused on Ellis Island, New York Harbor, and Industrial Age immigrants.

U.S. CAPITOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY

U.S. CAPITOL HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

The U.S. Capitol building began in 1793 and has Roman and Greek architecture styles. The building itself has undergone reconstruction as well as restoration over time. Congress started meeting there in 1800 when it was a room. Today there is over 16 acres of floor space. The rotunda of the domed building is one of most iconic in the world. Now you can take tours of historic areas of the building as well as areas in use today. Learn more about historic America, George Washington, and this non-profit at the linked site!

ELLIS ISLAND STEAMSHIP PASSENGER SITE : HOW NOT TO USE IT #1

ELLIS ISLAND : ROMANTIC

I'm one of the people who got up in the middle of the night to get into the original passenger lists database site when it first opened years ago, sure I had ancestors who came to the United States, processed through ELLIS ISLAND. Oh, that site was just so jammed up. 

I was half right. I eventually learned ancestors came through New York before Ellis. Other ancestors avoided steerage class - third class tickets - and thus getting off at Ellis. First and second class passengers got off with ease at Castle Garden first and did not have to go through the medical inspection required at Ellis. Ancestors bought tickets for other ports. It depended on where their final destination might be but prices for tickets could be competitive. New York Harbor was busy with ships. It seems to me immigrants were unloaded by the hundreds. 

The city was daunting for people who left villages and an agricultural way of life. Though the medical examination was brief - about five minutes - and focused on noticeable eye infections and obvious mental illness, it was an intimidating exam. Unscrupulous cab drivers and thieves and con artists awaited the unsuspecting immigrant with a difference in language and village innocence. Sometimes the person was thieved of the money they had taken years to earn. As a result authorities wanted to know that an immigrant had a contact - somewhere to go - or that someone was meeting them just outside.

What New York had going for it was the trains. You could get almost anywhere if you got off a ship in New York and then made your way to the train station.

Millions of Americans do have an ancestor who came through Ellis Island though. Their people came into the U.S. witnessing the Statue of Liberty holding her torch high above the New York Harbor. They were filled with so much hope that this country would be the place to have a better life. They'd been on board from 10 days from German ports to a week leaving Southhampton. Or they had crossed from Liverpool or sailed the Mediterranean. Steerage immigrants had not seen much of the ocean during their trip though. They were usually only allowed on deck to stretch and breath for an hour a day. Then it was back down into the least desirable part if the ship, called steerage because a passenger could feel the movement of the ship. It could be dim, crowded, noisy, and smelly. It was not the place for a pretty young woman alone though more than once now I've met people whose ancestors met on the boat over and decided to marry.

So the other day I decided to revisit the original Ellis Island database, which has an "excuse our dust" apology up as the promise is made that it's being upgraded. I tried the password I had remembered twice and it didn't work. So I decided to change my password. In the associated email, which was consistent, came the message that the deed was done. I went to login at Ellis again with the new password but I got an alert that due to three password attempts my "account" was blocked. I tried more than a half hour later. Still blocked. So I followed the link to Administrator, where I filled out a contact and complaint form. Up came the capcha. I filled that in correctly and it fed me another one; it presented the whole form again blank. At that point I'd wasted a half hour and was too frustrated to continue. Is this the "dust"? My opinion? The only reason this site wants you to have an account to use it is because that's tied into their increasingly feeble offerings to fund raise. They went and sold their data to other databases that charge fees to use them years ago, databases which are not as temperamental. Sorry, but if they thought their data was this precious to be restricted they shouldn't have. And this site started out free to use without a login.

Maybe another day. 

So. You may decide to navigate the original Ellis Island database site or use another database which contains these records.

Note that "New York" ship records found elsewhere will possibly include records of 1st and 2nd class passengers, crew, and pre-Ellis records. You might also find those detained or hospitalized. That could be interesting for your family history narrative.

Be aware that you may eventually find the same passenger coming in more than once, which means they may have first gone on a vacation, a go see, meeting up with relatives or friends, and then they went back to put their affairs in order.

(The Breman, Germany lists of departures from Europe are the only ones I know of.)

Typically men came first and then sent their wives tickets, or went back for them and came with a family group. I found one young lady who'd been orphaned who crossed with a designated escort. In some cases men went back and forth as seasonal laborers - this was common of Hungarian and Italian men. What happened in those months couples were apart?

I'll post the next advisory in a few days.

Continue to the best of your ability to stay safe.

C 2021 

This post is part of a series of posts focused on Ellis Island, New York Harbor, and Industrial Age immigrants.

INTO THE FUTURE AND STEPPING INTO THE PAST

Hello to my ANCESTRY WORSHIP genealogy readers here in the U.S.  and Europe. I want to start the New Year, 2021, with a message of hope. I really do. Oh, I know, we have all been put to the test due to the restrictions of living in plague times. We are lonely, bored, cranky, crazy. Some of us are in grief and many are dealing with loss. We are having bad dreams when we sleep.

Humanity as a whole has been through plague before. I hope we can move on from this bad time. It does take cooperation and collaboration to survive.

I don't know about you, but genealogy practice and family history research has given me a greater understanding of human perseverence. And though not much changed on New Years day with Covid-19 - the vaccinations have begun but the statistics are frightening - it's still a symbolic new start. In this case, here at ANCESTRY WORSHIP - a genealogy blog - to use research to go back to the past and learn more about our ancestors and perhaps relearn to stand on their shoulders to make it through our days.

As a quick update first, for those if you following the Italian citizenship quest, no, the archive in Italy has not responded in any way to the letter and money sent there three months ago. Asked what to do, I said don't send more money but Italy us decimated so let's wait.

So, I'm going to start the new year by posting on ELLIS ISLAND and using ship manifests -passenger arrival records- to locate ancestors in the Old Country. 

Let's try to start anew.

Someone sent me this photo and I have no idea where it came from. Do you?

 

Ancestry Worship - Genealogy

VINTAGE GLASS CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

 

These look like the ones that my parents put on their tree, along with a few that they had from their own families that were hung during World War II.  As a child I spent hours looking at the ornaments on our tree, as well as the glistening silvery tincil and big fat primary colored bulbs. 

HO HO HO and a BOTTLE OF RUM

Isn't it funny that we associate the term HO HO HO with Santa Claus, a gifter, and pirates - thieves?

I was thinking about this irony today, as I prepare for an iffy Holiday Season.  

I got into the holiday spirit a couple weeks ago.  I began to think of holiday songs and ran them in my head as I cooked and cleaned.  "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas."  

I watched some Christmas shows meant for children with some wonderful animation but not holy or traditional messages; there was cartoon violence, compilated plots that are hard to accommodate.  I eliminated these as possibilities for a senior friend - her grandchildren.  Instead I chose "A Snowy Day." (Which is multicultural and about inclusion and neighborhood sharing.)

I wrapped some presents bought on an extremely low budget.

And then something went haywire with a bill I've faithfully paid for three years.  If I had sent too small an amount by error or the company had increased rates and a notice hadn't arrived, they had waited a month to tell me I owed more. They called a friend I had on as an emergency contact a couple years ago - who I'd instructed them to take off the account a year ago - a month after this.  I was startled to see her at my door after not hearing from her since before the Covid-shut downs. I'd sent a card and letter wondering if she was well and there had been no response. So, when I saw her at my door, at first I was happy. I had just purchased a Christmas card for her. But she tore into me about the phone calls she was getting from this place. I apologized and activated by putting a business letter in the mail - took it all the way into the post office - asking for an accounting and explanation.  I mentioned she was not to be called.  But they called her AGAIN.  End of friendship for sure.  Still, I feel bad.  

As I attempted to rescue the situation before ruin set in, I felt stressed out beyond reason. I felt fragile and scared. I didn't want to involve anyone or anger anyone. Whatever happened, short staffs and closures had hurt many businesses.  I didn't want to see or talk to anyone. 

I so wanted my life back.  And felt helpless to do that.

So I got up, got my dog, and took a slow three hour walk around streets that were mostly deserted, past businesses that were mostly closed.  I was careful.  Mask, Hand Spray, Doggie Bags, Social Distancing.  I did stop in here and there - standing in a doorway to say Merry Christmas to an old friend - running in to a store to see about catnip and having a key made.

I mentioned this long walk to another friend I went to visit. This morning she said if I did not agree not to talk to anyone (she meant strangers) or go into buildings, she did not want to associate with me anymore!  She is a long time antivaxxer and has regaled me in recent weeks with fears that non-organic food will give me cancer.

I'm reading everything I can about the vaccine. I'm just as likely to catch Covid as she is. It's just that when she and her husband see their children and grandchildren, some of whom are going out into the workplace, and her friends, she thinks they are all safe. She doesn't trust mine as safe.

My contacts are actually fewer. But she trusts the people she knows.

I agreed with her.  I said I would not.

But I was mad.  I knew I was going to have to do some things I don't believe in, if I wanted to maintain that relationship.  I would have to sneak, lie, or not tell her where I go and who I associate with.  Point being, I have a life and business to take care of and think she has become controlling and frankly, paranoid.  I wonder if she needs an evaluation for mental decline.

I have barely seen my friends in months. Covid-19 is stressful and I have to wonder what relationships won't be effected. My friend who got phone calls over a payment error shouldn't have but not for a moment did she consider the error was their fault.

And so it goes, on and on, this whole horrid situation we find ourselves in.

But the statistics are not fully stated.  

There are millions of people in my county.

Five percent of them have tested positive for Covid.

A small percentage of that five percent are sick enough to be hospitalized or die.  Yes the hospitals are overwrought.

I do not want to get sick or die (or make anyone else sick) either.  So I'm considering that by this spring I will take the vaccine and if I get sick (from Covid-19 or the vaccine) I will go to a motel to isolate rather than come in contact with anyone I know.  (I have a stack of unread books to eat through.)

It feels good to complain.

Psychologically, it is good for us to get out of the house and take those walks. Many of those people, who told me at the start of this plague how good they were being alone, how much they had to do alone, are now going a little crazy.  Some, a lot crazy.  

If you feel that way, you are not alone.

Seasons Greetings!

C 2020

Note: January 3, 2021

I've edited this rather miserable post for clarity. I thought maybe I should take it down but then I'm like you- part of this historic plague experience. Polls taken state that most people alive think 2020 was the worst year they've lived through.

ETHICAL USE OF DNA DATABASES BEHIND CAPTURE OF GOLDEN STATE KILLER - EXCELLENT ARTICLE FROM LA TIMES (UPDATED APRIL 2021)

The article by Paige St John which begins on the front page of the Los Angeles Times,  paper edition, dated December 10th, is detailed and excellent but at this moment I haven't found a link for it.  In my labels below I've listed the companies that figure in the process in which the killer's DNA matched others.  The Golden State Killer mystery was one that many a professional and citizen sleuth tried to solve. No doubt he needed to be caught.  But we all wonder if our DNA that we so willfully submit for the purposes of meeting long lost relatives and solving genealogy research problems, is really as private and secure as we desire.

I may have mentioned that I've never taken a DNA test myself.  My own research is off and on.  There are things that took many years for me to find, again not looking every day for twenty years but still.  

I remember the day I sat next to a new researcher at a Family History Center who got one spool of film and went back six generations in her German heritage family in that afternoon.  Because I was working on ancestors in a Central - Eastern European country and the records were sloppy and didn't have details of the German records it has taken me many years to get back close to 1800. I'm forever interested but not obsessed.

And so you must ask yourself what you are giving up about yourself in hopes of gaining in research.

I will search for this article again in the near future, hoping it's considered important enough to have a link.  If not, search out the paper edition.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

Here is the link LA TIMES UNTOLD STORY OF HOW THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER WAS FOUND

PEAR TREE

 

ANCESTRY WORSHIP GENEALOGY BLOGSPOT